Flippa - is this a scam?

Jason,

That's a red flag to be honest.

I haven't used Flippa, but I recently listed my Beemer for sale on eBay.

I kept getting the same story from different people. I replied and eventually, it ended up that they would transfer funds and wanted me to pay an agent's fee via WU.

So it's unrelated, but maybe they are now targeting Flippa clients?

Let us know how you go.

Jason it does sound a bit suspicious. I hope you don't lose a sale over it all, but I think I'd be a little worried. Is there any other way that you can do it without giving them your bank details?

You can use a 3rd party wire transfer that won't send any info back to the client. Online casinos do that all the time.

Do they have a similar site for sale themselves are they just trying to neutralize the competition with no intention of follow though

i would surely not give them any bank info. if there is a way to do a transfer without doing so, go for it! who knows. i get all types of PMs on flippa. never can tell, at least i don't have enough experience there to tell lol.

Definitely a scam stay away from people like that.

Simon

Use escrow, they won't give the other party your bank details.

If they can bid for an item online why cant they get a Paypal. It is easy to set up. Be very wary of anyone trying to do business via wire transfer but there are ways around it as mentioned above. Definately look into your options and discuss it with them. If they are unwilling to do anything else I would tell them sorry no deal.

Yeah, I wouldn't do something like this. Something like this happened to me when I tried to sell a virtual item and surprise surprise it ended up with me getting banned from paypal.

Jason this sounds like a well known scam that was originally used to target car sellers. Anytime somebody offers you a lot more than what you would expect be very very careful especially if they are eager to do business outside of the normal channels.

Even if they are Paying through Pay Pal you are not 100% safe. It happened to me many years aga when I sold a high value item through ebay and they paid through Pay Pal using a stolen credit card and Pay Pal took the money back from me.

Make sure you use a secure service like escrow and if they are not willing to do that then walk away.

Escrow is the way to go, that way your both protected.

I'm just curious as it what can happen ...

Say you give out your banking details. They wire the money and
than declare the transaction wasn't authorized?

I don't think it works the same as with credit cards. The money in
your account can't be resent without your approval.

Or am I missing something? Using paypal or a credit card, it would be
easier to get scammed in my opinion.

There is no legitimate reason for anyone to not use the service of escrow.com for this type of sale.

You should have reported them immediately when they offered to buy outside of Flippa. There's a report button on the pms and that's what it is for.

You will never see your money from this person. Do not transfer any files or the domain and do not give out your bank info. This "sale" is a lost cause and never should have happened.

I just sold my web hosting business 2 weeks ago, and I wanted to do it through escrow, but the seller insisted on sending me a bank wire transfer. To me it sounded like "scam", so I went to my bank.

I asked the bank what risks were involved. The only risk involved when it comes to wire transfer is giving them your name and address. Giving them your "bank info" doesnt harm you, youre only giving them your account number, bank number and a swiftcode so the money gets routed to you. They can't take money out of your account with this info.

Once they send the money, and you log into your online banking and you see it in your account, CALL YOUR BANK. When youre on the phone with them ask them if its IN YOUR ACCOUNT. If they say yes, ask them "if I were to walk into the bank, could I withdraw all of the money?" if its $100,000 they sent you then obviously you cant, if its less thank $5k youll be fine. If they say yes again, then the money is in your account.

THEY CANNOT TAKE THE MONEY BACK. Once it is in your account it is yours.

After you confirm the money is in your bank account, THEN send the files/details to the site.


This was my exact process I used when I sold my business. Everything went smoothly (although it took 3+ days for the xfer, usually its faster) and I am now $5k richer hehe.

Anyways it ultimately is up to you. Just because someone said "WIRE TRANSFER" it doesnt mean its ALWAYS a scam....

I actually chose to do this OVER paypal... theyres actually less risks involved if you arent an idiot. With paypal they could just report the payment as unauthorized and then youre screwed.

It sounds like some kind of a scam despite the fact that there isn't anything inherently dodgy about a wire transfer..

Daniel

Why is everyone saying this is a scam for sure. You could of had the funds in your bank account already with a wire transfer. I have sold several sites on Flippa where I was paid with a wire transfer of funds.

Look I have no experience on Flippa and others here have. What I can tell you that this smacks of a scam that has been doing the rounds for years. There always slight variations of it.
I had a friend who sold his car on ebay, and the highest bidder wanted to do the deal away from paypal. They came up with some excuse about paying a cheque for more cash than the car was worth into his bank account. I think the cheque was suposed to be money owed to them and they did not have a bank of their own.
They rely on greed. My friend thought the money had cleared and duly sent them back the extra. Of course even though it showed in his bank account it can still bounce, and it did.
Not exactly the same as yours I know, but I am pretty sure its just a varation of it.

Be very careful my friend.

If you do a google search you will see the number of scams that are done using Western Union... The one site actually says if anyone insists on making WU payments it is a scam no questions asked.

If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Sure, you can take th sale and maybe gain $2500. But then again, remember all the poor fools who have done the same with similar situations and ended up being caught in a fraud circle.

Better to be safe than sorry dude.

There's your red flag right there bub.

Tell me, how many times have you heard the word "wire transfer" and "internationally" being used in a good tone? Now I am not trying to stereotype at the international part or say wire transfers are bad. In this case, there's red flags all over, enough to piss off a field of bulls.

You need to do your due diligence. Unfortunately, there are a lot of unscrupulous people out there. On higher dollar value transactions you need to be even more careful. Do NOT go outside Flippa's system as there is NO upside for you. If you want to proceed, as others have said, escrow.com sounds like the most reasonable approach.

TomG.

I got scammed 3 times before with very similar situations. I was getting mp4 players from the manufacturers and after exchanging numerous emails and photo proofs of their factories and products, they turned out to be scammers after all. And they all used international money transfer. That person you're dealing with sounds very much like those scumbags.

The worst they can try to do is screw you but once you have the cash and you are still freaked out that someone will come after you. Just change your bank account number.. Most banks will support you 110%

Sounds like a scam to be. They know the tricks to make it sound just real enough to get you to bite. This sorta thing happened to me probably 20 times in the few years I sold on eBay, and it was a scam every single time.

I called the guy out on why he keeps asking for my bank details, and why his name is registered on dozens of URLs that appear to contain paypal functionality. Suffice to say I am awaiting a reply. Hope this scenario helps someone else using flippa should it happen to them.

IMO, scam, steer well clear.

I thought "discussing it outside" flippa was against their TOS.

"You agree that if you, as a Seller, purchase a Listing for your Website, then, for the duration of that Listing, you will not advertise or offer to sell the Website through any other third party service or make direct approaches to potential purchasers outside Flippa.com"

Jazbo,

As you are based in the UK, I would imagine that the Payment Services Regulations 2009 would dictate that once your bank credits your account with the wire transfer in, then there is nothing they can do to take it out.
Check you particular bank's conditions to see if there is such a clause (I don't think there generally are).

It is more likely that the fraudster is looking for genuine bank account details to use on counterfeit checks or the like, or as you say, to switch from wire transfer to Western Union at the last minute.